ABSTRACT
The United States is one of the brief periods in history during which there is an opportunity for critical reappraisal and change in its control of exports to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Recent Soviet actions have ended the euphoria of the detente era, and the temporary embargo of selected commercial products to the Soviet Union provided a break in the momentum of East-West trade over the past decade. The purpose of foreign trade is to maximize a nation's income without imperiling its national security. A government will not permit trade with a potential enemy in those items where national security is clearly the overriding consideration, and it does not interfere in trade for those items clearly unrelated to national security. The chapter focuses on the military, economic, and political implications of the sale of technology as a special case in East-West trade.
